I came across a decent find the other night and soon I will be re-investing in a Korg Electribe EA-1, for the third time. As ridiculous as it sounds, I have bought and traded this piece of kit twice in 1999 and again around 2004, both times for newer machines. This time I am buying it for good.

The Electribe was the first analog modeling synth I ever owned and I bought it soon after watching Orbital in the summer of ’99. I wanted something to complement my amazing Yamaha DJX keyboard and Korg DDD-5 drum machine (both of these have been sold and neither has been missed, too much). I bought this not really understanding what I was getting, thinking that I would suddenly be able to make Orbital caliber music with this funny silver and blue box with light up keys. Alas, it was not meant to be. Since the EA-1 is two monophonic synths in the same box, there is no ability to create chords or flowing soundscapes, or anything that would require more than one note at a time. I sold my first one around December of 1999 to get some money to buy my Yamaha RM1x.

Fast-forward a couple of years, about 2001. I have the RM1x, a mixer, and a Korg Karma now. I could get a lot more sound out but something was missing. At some point, I don’t remember exactly when, I stumbled across two used Electribes at Guitar Center, an EA-1 and ER-1 (a drum machine built in the same format as the EA-1, really easy, fun, etc…) and bought both of them.

I’ve heard that both of these instruments have been referred to as the poor man’s 303 or 808 and I have to agree. These were instruments that revolutionized the industry in ways completely unexpected when they were introduced. The 303 was created originally to mimic a bass guitar and had some success in its time but now sells for over a thousand dollars in online auctions. I don’t think that the Electribes will ever reach that level, but they do have a cult following. While not glamorous or glitzy, they have a mixture of nostalgia and functionality that make them very, very fun. The beauty of these machines are their simplicity, direct access to functions and aggressive sounds.

Long story short, and several songs later, I sold both of these in the summer of 2003 after graduating from college in order to buy my Access Virus A, probably the best investment I have made to date with regards to versatility. I have had no regrets with owning this synthesizer and would buy it again if I needed to replace it. But it just isn’t the Electribe.

Cumulatively I have spent enough to have bought two of these fresh off the shelf when they were new, or five at their current price. Either way, I hate to sell any equipment but in context, it was the right thing to do at the time. I’m just glad that opportunity shone on me from behind a glass counter-top the other evening (and that the unit worked when I plugged it in). Let the acid sounds commence!